For The Love Of Salix Hominid
by Lady of Cornwall
Summary: What love is more forbidden than the love of a vampire and the slayer? That of a vampire and the slayer's best friend! Nevertheless, Angel wants Willow, and will do anything to have her. Rating will increase with chapters. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Buffyverse. Some of the dialogue has been borrowed from the Season 2 episode "Lie to Me."

The infamous vampire with a soul paced his Sunnydale apartment. It was early morning but he couldn't sleep. He walked to the fridge and took out a glass of pig's blood. He took an absent-minded swig, and placed it on the counter. Moving to the bed, he laid down, but was up on his feet again in seconds. No matter what he did the restlessness wouldn't leave him. He simply couldn't get her off of his mind. He walked to the bookshelf and picked up a volume of Byron determinedly:

Sweet lady! once my heart was warm  
With every feeling soft as thine;  
But Beauty's self hath ceased to charm  
A wretch created to repine.

Yet wilt thou weep when I am low?  
Sweet lady! speak those words again:  
Yet if they grieve thee, say not so--  
I would not give that bosom pain.

Reading the words, he quickly slammed the book shut. _That certainly isn't going to help_. He thought to himself. He shook his head. _Angel, you have to stop this…it can never happen! But she's so beautiful…so graceful…so forbidden. Not only because she's human and I'm a demon…worse than that, she's the best friend of my…my…well Buffy. _

_Buffy. She too, is beautiful, and strong, and…not Willow. _

"Damn it!" The curse sounded unusually loud in the empty apartment.

He had seen her earlier in the night. He had gone to the Bronze and she had been there. Buffy was there too, with some randy teenager, apparently a friend from L.A, following her about. In truth, he was relieved to see Buffy with someone. She was quickly becoming very attached to the idea of a "relationship" and he wasn't even sure she understood what that meant. Willow had been hanging around that Xander as usual, what she saw in a boy like that was a mystery, but she had greeted him cheerfully. _And you didn't even respond_, he scolded himself. He had been content to watch her for a few minutes. The way her eyes sparkled when she smiled, and the pleased look on her face she thought of something amusing. She had noticed him all too soon however, and when she invited him to play pool, he had panicked and vanished without a word.

"Idiot!" Again, the word echoed loudly throughout the empty apartment.

He had to do something. As he continued pacing he realised there was no way he could leave things in such a state. What would she think of him? _You know, she probably doesn't think of you at all…she has more important things to do_, he told himself. Still, he could not rest until he came up with a plan. Around midday, he came up with one.

It was evening and Angel was nervously lurking on Willow's balcony. _This is the worst idea ever! You're one of the Four Scourges of Europe and this is the best you could come up with? _He scolded himself, which he seemed to be doing a lot lately, and tapped lightly on her door. He heard her yelp slightly in fright and then the curtains were drawn back.

"Oh! Angel, what are you doing here?" She opened the door to let him in.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh…well…" She gestured for him to enter. "Well?"

Silently Angel cursed the complications of being a vampire for the umpteenth time. "I can't. Unless you invite me in, I can't come in."

"Oh." He could tell she was nervous. "Okay, well I invite you. To come in."

Angel entered and watched as, with a look of utter mortification, she hurried to hide a bra that was on her bed. He smiled ever so slightly as he wondered about the number of bras he had seen in his two hundred and some years.

"I…if this is a bad time, I…" He trailed off.

"No! I just…I'm not supposed to have boys in my room." She blushed scarlet at embarrassment, and again Angel smiled slightly at her use of the word 'boy.'

"I promise to behave myself."

"Okay. Good." He was blessed with one of her winning smiles.

The silence began to grow and Angel rushed to fill it. "I guess I need your help." _Damn, that had not been what he was intending to say._

"Help? You mean like on homework? No, 'cause you're old and you already no stuff."

If he hadn't been already dead, he would have killed himself. This was not at all how he had imagined this meeting going…there had been less awkwardness and much more kissing. He searched frantically for something to say. His eyes fell on her laptop.

"I want you to track someone down. On the Net."

"Oh great! I'm so the 'net girl.'" She smiled again and went to sit at her desk.

"I just want to find out everything I can. Records, affiliates, I'm not even sure what I'm looking for yet." _You can say that again. _Angel thought to himself as he wracked his brain for a way to keep the conversation going.

"Good. What's the name?"

_The name? Who the hell do I want to know more about? No one--except for the girl whose bedroom I'm now standing in--making a complete ass of myself. _She was staring at him expectantly.

"Angel?" She asked.

"Billy Fordham." He blurted out. _Idiot!_ He thought, as soon as the name left his mouth. _Of all the names in the world, why that one?_

"Uh Angel? If I say something that you don't want to hear, do you promise not to bite me?"

When she turned to face him, biting her, though tempting, was only one of many things he wanted to do to her. He shook his head. _I guess I have to go along with the ruse_.

"Are you going to tell me that I'm jealous?" He hoped his voice sounded annoyed enough.

"Well you do sometimes get that way." She went back to typing.

"You know, I never used to. Things used to be pretty simple. A hundred years, hanging out, feeling guilty…I honed my brooding skills." Willow turned to face him and he continued quickly. "Then she comes along (_You came along_) yeah I get jealous. But I know people, and my gut tells me that this is a wrong guy."

"Okay. But if there isn't anything weird…hey, that's weird."

"What?"

"I just checked the school records, and he's not in them. I mean, usually they transfer your grades and stuff, but he's not even registered."

"He said he was in school with you guys right?"

"Well let me see if I can…"

_What am I doing? It sounds like I really care about this Billy character. I have to tell her why I really came. _He mustered up some courage.

"Willow, I…"

"What is it Angel?"

"I…" He was interrupted by a voice from the hallway.

"Willow? Are you still up?"

"Ack! Go! I'm just going to bed now Mom." She practically pushed him onto the balcony.

"Willow, I…"

"Not now! Come by tomorrow at sunset. I'll keep looking."

"But I…"

She slammed the door in his face and shut the curtain.

"…Love you." He whispered

When he returned to his apartment he fell onto his bed.

"Well…that went well." The words sounded loud and ominous in the empty apartment.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Buffyverse. Some of the dialogue has been borrowed from the Season 2 episode "Lie to Me."

"Okay Mom, sorry Mom, yes I'm going to bed now Mom." Willow quickly shut the door and ran to peer out the window but he was already gone, she wasn't sure if she was upset or relieved by that fact.

Her legs suddenly felt weak, as if they no longer had the strength to hold her up. She sunk slowly to the floor and wrapped her arms around her knees.

Angel, vampire extraordinaire, had been in her bedroom.

Angel, one of the Four Scourges Of Europe, had been in her bedroom.

Angel, Buffy's boyfriend, had been in her bedroom.

_Buffy_…_if anything I should feel guilty, or at least terrified, he's a vampire for crying out loud!_

However, as she sat on her floor, Willow did not feel guilty or afraid, instead she felt rather giddy. For the events of tonight closely resembled many of her wildest dreams, true in her dreams she had been clothed in scanty lingerie and Angel had been shirtless, but still, he had been in her bedroom--mere inches from her bed!

As Willow replayed the events in her mind, the smile on her face disappeared.

_What was I thinking? 'I'm so the net girl'--way to be sultry. 'I'm not supposed to have boys in my room'… what on earth possessed me to say that? If he didn't see me as Buffy's naive little friend before--he does now!_

"Idiot!" She swore out loud.

_What am I thinking? It doesn't matter how he sees me. No matter how I feel about him, he is Buffy's boyfriend. So my feelings have to stay buried. Not that he would return my feelings anyway, who would want a docile bookworm when they can have an independent slayer? No, of course he only sees me as Buffy's best friend--and that's how it should be._

As Willow climbed into bed, she made a resolution to forget the feelings that Angel, despite being a blood-drinking demon, stirred in her. _If only he wasn't coming back tomorrow night!_ In spite of herself, Willow felt a surge of butterflies in her stomach at the very thought.

--

Willow managed to get through the first two periods of the day without thinking about Angel. It was surprisingly easy when there were classes to attend, books to locate, and people like Xander to distract her. As lunch began however, sticking to her resolution became decidedly more difficult.

"Willow! Wait up!" Willow cringed inwardly as she recognized the voice of her best friend. The guilt that had seemed unimportant last night was roaring in her chest today.

"Oh…h- hi Buffy." She did her best to avoid eye contact.

"What's up?" Buffy shot her a bright smile.

"N- nothing." She mumbled.

"Are you okay Will?" Buffy did look genuinely concerned.

"I'm fine." She said quickly--too quickly.

"Okay, well, what did you do last night?"

_Damn! Think…think…_Willow's thoughts were cut off when another voice joined the conversation.

"Hey you two!" Ford, Buffy's friend from LA, walked up to join them, "Buffy, we're having lunch right?" He asked.

"Lunch—right…food is good. Hey Willow, do you want to hang? We're cafeteria bound."

"I-I-I'm gonna do work in the computer lab on school work that I have, so I cannot hang just now."

Buffy rolled her eyes, "Okay, Will, fess up."

"What?"

"Are you drinking coffee again? Cause we've talked about this."

"It makes me jumpy. I have to go. Away." She turned on her heels and practically ran to the computer lab. _This is going to be harder than I thought._

--

Unfortunately, rather than getting easier, the situation seemed to get more and more complicated. In English that afternoon, Buffy had wanted to engage in a play-by-play of her interaction with Angel at the Bronze last night and had then asked if she could come over to continue the discussion. Willow was forced to make up a pitiful excuse about a Jewish holiday, that she knew Buffy didn't completely believe.

Once she was alone in her room, she did her best concentrate on her homework. However, try as she might to discourage them, images of Angel kept popping into her head. Soon she found herself staring at the clock.

_He'll be here in four hours…._

_He'll be here in three hours…._

_He'll be here in two hours…._

_He'll be here in an hour…._

Willow was so absorbed in her thoughts that once again she gave a yelp when she heard a tap on the window. She bolted out of her chair and opened the door to the balcony. There he was--the words tall, dark and handsome, did not do his features even a millimeter of justice. Of its own accord, Willow's breath caught in her throat. _Get a hold of yourself. It's not like this is the first time you've seen him._

"Good-evening Willow." He said, it was barely more than a whisper.

"Hi Angel, come in…I mean I know that you don't need an invite the second time around but please come in…that is…if you want to…." She trailed off lamely. _Of course he wants to, why else would he be lurking outside your window? Idiot!_ She mentally scolded herself.

Angel gave no sign that her speech had been the least bit unorthodox. "Thank-you."

She moved away from the door so he could enter. She quickly went to her computer and turned on the screen--anything so she wouldn't have to look at him.

"Willow…" Angel began.

In her zest to appear normal, she cut him off, "Angel, I found loads of stuff for you on Billy."

"Oh, did you? Well that's…that's…wonderful."

When he stammered she turned to look at him, Angel wasn't one to be at a loss for words. When she looked at him, she thought she saw a flicker of emotion on his face--almost disappointment. _I'm imagining things…either that or he was hoping everything would be honky-dory. _

"Wonderful? Really?" She asked.

"What I mean is, at least now I'll have something to go on."

"Right." She quickly turned back to the computer.

The silence stretched to span several minutes. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, she heard him speak.

"Willow?"

"Yes, Angel?" She deliberately kept her eyes glued to the screen.

"There is actually something else I wanted to talk to you about, and since I'm already here…"

Willow forced herself to turn to face him. "Sure, what's up?"

"Well, the thing is…" He was interrupted by her mother's voice.

"Willow, Buffy's on her way up."

"Buffy!" The two exclaimed in unison.

"Quick out on the balcony!"

"There's no time, I can hear her on the stairs." He exclaimed.

"Um…um…in the closet!"

Angel dove into the closet and Willow slammed it closed just as Buffy burst into the room.

"Hey!" She said.

"Hi Buffy." Willow attempted a smile.

"Now, I know you were lying earlier about the Jewish holiday thingy."

"No I wasn't…."

"Will, I just asked your Mom about it."

"Oh."

"Anyway, it doesn't matter, I know you just wanted to have some uninterrupted homework time."

"Yeah…I've got loads." _Note to self: That would have been a much better excuse._

"Well too bad! I really need to talk to you."

"Sure, of course…homework can wait. What did you want to talk about?"

"Angel…what else?" Buffy asked.

Willow thought of Angel hiding in the closet and cringed, "silly me." She smiled weakly.

"The thing is, we're supposed to have kind of a date thing tomorrow and I was wondering if I could borrow your purple hat?"

"You want to borrow my hat?" Willow, was surprised.

"Yeah, I want to shake things up a bit, you know…be different."

"Well of course you can borrow it…I'm not sure where it is though, I'll look for it and bring it to school tomorrow."

"What are you talking about? It's in your closet in your hat basket.

Before Willow could stop her, Buffy sprang across the room and opened the closet. She gasped in surprise when she saw Angel.

"Angel? What on earth are you doing in Willow's closet?"

He came out and looked at her uncomfortably.

"Well, you see, there was a giant spider on Willow's bed, and I happened to be in the neighborhood so I thought I'd help her out." He said.

"Yeah, the spider was really um…big…I'm so glad Angel killed it." Willow joined in.

They both waited for Buffy to get angry. Instead, she burst out laughing.

"Honestly, you guys are the worst liars ever! I know you were planning my birthday party…well actually I thought it was you and Xander, Will. That's why I came up with the excuse about the hat. But the fact that you're helping Angel…well that's just…just…"

"Great?" Willow suggested.

"Yeah, great!" She ran forward and gave him a spontaneous hug.

As Willow watched his arms encircle her, her breath caught in her throat again. _This definitely isn't going to be easy._

"Well I don't want to keep you guys from your plans. I'll leave you too it, I have to patrol anyway." She paused when she got to the doorway. "Just remember, I like lots of prezzies!" She smiled at them and left.

--

"It's getting late." Angel commented. "Maybe I could get the information from you another time?"

"Huh…yeah sure Angel, whenever you want."

"Excellent, well I'll let you get some sleep then. Goodnight Willow."

"Goodnight Ang-" but the vampire had already left. She was alone.


	3. Chapter 3

Angel woke with a start. He growled in frustration; the same dream had been haunting him for months. In it, for some unknown, unimportant reason, Willow was in his apartment. She was turned away from him, gazing longingly at the first edition books on his shelf; her hand outstretched almost reverently, not quite touching them. After watching her for a moment he walked quietly and put his arms around her waist, drawing her against him. She gasped in surprise, but didn't pull away. Night after night in the dream, he would then turn her to face him, and once they looked into each other's eyes, words were no longer necessary….

Angel growled again. He was completely aware that he sounded like a lovesick schoolboy and what was more, he didn't really care. He was more concerned with the fact that it was Buffy, and not Willow, who would be at his apartment in a few minutes. She had declared the night before that she was going to skip school and spend the day with him. He had tried to protest, but it did little good. Once Buffy got an idea in her head, there was little that could stop her.

His mind turned to Willow again, as usual, now that the Billy Fordam ruse was useless, _stupid boy, getting himself killed_, Angel thought, he wasn't sure when he would have an excuse to be alone with her again. He had the urge to throw something, but that would have to wait.

He knew she was behind him before the two hands covered his eyes.

"Buffy."

"No fair, you have super-senses!" She laughed.

"How are you?" He asked.

"Good, excited about my birthday!"

"Right, when is that again?"

"Very funny." She hugged him and then surprisingly he felt her tense.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing." She buried her face into his chest.

He stiffened slightly, he hated when she insisted on beating around the bush, "Buffy…"

"I'm worried about that dream I had…"

'Buffy, I told you Drusilla is dead."

"I know but…"

"No buts, lets talk about something else."

"Fine, when's my surprise party?"

"I walked right into that one. Have you asked Willow?"

"Yes, but her lips are sealed, and besides she's super-stressed about a paper, what's new right?"

"What's her paper about?"

"Um, I'm not sure, I haven't been to history class in a while. I think it's about the Irish potato famine or something stupid like that."

Angel bristled. _It's not her fault, not everyone appreciates history._ He told himself. Then he got an idea.

"You know Buffy, I lived through the famine, if Willow needs some help, I'd be happy to give her a first hand account…." He hoped his voice sounded nonchalant.

"What about my paper?" She demanded; her lips formed a pout.

"Well, you said you hadn't been to class, I assumed you weren't going to do it. Doesn't Willow practically write yours for you anyway?"

"Hmm…good point. You know me too well."

Angel smiled.

"So do you want me to have Willow stop by then?"

"Only if she thinks it will be useful…"

"I'm sure she will…Angel?"

"What?"

"Are you going to kiss me now?" She tilted her head up expectantly.

He hesitated for a moment and then pressed his lips against hers. He didn't feel nearly as bad as he should when a certain redhead instantly popped into his mind.

--

Angel practically jumped out of skin when he heard the soft knock at the door. He knew it was her. He could smell her. He went to the door and opened it.

"Hello Willow." He said.

"Hey Angel." She gave him a small smile. "So are you going to invite me in? Of course, I don't need an invitation, I'm not a..a…" She trailed off awkwardly.

"Please, come in."

She entered the room and looked around at his apartment wide-eyed.

"Nice place…of course my parents would kill me if they knew where I was. I told them I was at Xander's…" She trailed off again.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure."

"What would you like?"

"Anything but blood." She grinned widely and Angel had to stop himself from reaching out to touch her.

He quickly went into the kitchen to get her a soda.

"So have you got a thesis for your paper yet?" He called over his shoulder.

"Well I was thinking of discussing England's role in the famine, and how they continued to export food from Ireland, even though the people were starving."

"Good idea. Bloody English!" He busied himself in the kitchen.

When he came back he found her turned away from him, gazing longingly at the first edition books on his shelf; her hand outstretched almost reverently, not quite touching them. He dropped the soda can.

Willow turned at the noise.

"Aren't vampires supposed to have super reflexes?" She chuckled softly.

Ok, so it wasn't exactly the scene from his dream, but he didn't care. He strode forward and captured her in his arms. She felt so small, so frail.

She gasped in utter surprise.

"What are you doing?" He could hear panic in her voice; she thought he was going to bite her.

Still, he didn't loosen his hold. He put two fingers under her chin and tilted her head up. He saw a mixture of emotion in her eyes. Fear, yes, but also something else. Was it longing?

He brought his head down and crushed his lips against hers. It was a few moments before he remembered that she probably had never been kissed before and forced himself to be gentle. He slid his tongue gently across her lips until they parted. He explored her mouth and after a few moments he felt her tongue tentatively touch his. He retreated a little to see what she would do if given the reins. At first she froze but then he felt her hands in his hair and her tongue return to his mouth. She was shy, and slightly awkward, but Angel found that he was still incredibly aroused. He decided it was time to bring this to a halt before things got out of hand. He reached up and removed her hands from his hair. He pulled away slightly and gazed down at her. Her eyes were still closed, her brow slightly furrowed.

"Willow…"

"Is this a dream?" She demanded quietly.

Angel smiled; he had honestly thought she would be angry with him. "No, it's not."

She finally opened her eyes, and he saw the anger he had been afraid of. "Then, what was that?"

"I've been trying to tell you something for a while."

Angel paused, waiting for an answer, however when she showed no sign of speaking he continued. "I love you."

Willow blinked rapidly a few times. "You…you…I…mean…what?"

Angel smiled again. "I love you."

"You mean you love Buffy."

"No, I love you." Now that he had finally said it. Angel wanted to say it a million times.

"Did someone spike your blood this morning?"

"Willow, please…"

"Well what do you expect me to say? I mean the two hundred year old dead guy who is dating my best friend, and barely ever speaks to me, I might add, has just declared that he's in love with me. It's not something that just happens. It doesn't matter if I wished…what am I supposed…how am I supposed…."

Her rant was cut off when his lips descended upon hers again. He pulled away after many minutes of bliss.

When she opened her eyes she scolded him, "you have to stop doing that."

"I won't kiss you again if you don't want me to." He promised.

She stared at him, but the anger was gone. "Well that's not a very good answer."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm definitely going to want you to."

Angel beamed down at her.

"How can you possibly be in love with me?" Willow asked. Her eyes were glued to the floor.

Angel tilted her head up again, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Because you're you. That's how."

"Oh…"

"What's wrong Willow?"

"I…what are we going to do?"

I don't know, but I know what I want to do."

"What?"

Angel kissed her again.


End file.
